MORE NEWS, 7-21 (NEW ENERGY PUMPS 11% OF U.S. POWER!; INDIA IS NOT OBLIGATED; A NEW GENERATION OF SOLAR DISHES)

NEW ENERGY PUMPS 11% OF U.S. POWER!
Coal on the slide as renewables top 11 per cent of US power mix; As a raft of states pass new legislation demanding increased renewables capacity, new figures confirm green power now accounts for over a tenth of US energy
Cath Everett, July 20, 2009 (UK Business Green)

"The renewable energy revolution under way in the US appears to be gathering pace…According to the [U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration] July Electric Power Monthly report, green energy generation accounted for 11.1 per cent of total electricity production in the country between April 2008 and 2009.

"Input from hydroelectric sources rose 18.4 per cent to make up seven per cent of the total…[The New Energies] now account for 4.1 per cent. Wind power was the biggest success story in the renewables sector with net generation increasing by over a third…The figures compared with a 13.9 per cent fall in coal-fired generation, although it still provided 46.1 per cent of the US' electric power and remains the biggest single source…[N]et electricity generation in the country fell by 5 per cent over the year as industrial production slumped by 12.5 per cent…"

click to enlarge

"The figures will provide a further boost to the booming US renewables sector, which is flush with Federal funding from President Obama's economic stimulus package and has seen growing numbers of states pass [Renewable Electricity Standards, RESs] requiring that a larger proportion of energy comes from low carbon sources.

"Last week…Kansas and West Virginia both adopted [RESs] for the first time…Kansas now requires state utilities to meet 10 per cent of their peak demand using such sources by 2010, rising to 15 per cent by 2019 and 20 per cent by 2020 - although some of the requirement can be met by purchasing renewable energy credits…[and] all vehicles and buildings owned or leased by Kansas must now also meet agreed energy-efficiency standards."

click to enlarge

"West Virginia, which is a coal state, has likewise introduced a new credits-based system for renewable energy and coal-based "alternative" energy sources, such as carbon capture and storage. It will require electricity generating companies to use such credits for at least 10 per cent of their retail sales by 2015, increasing to 15 per cent by 2020 and 25 per cent by 2025.

"…[In addition,] Maine is now providing a 50 per cent additional credit for utilities supporting community-based renewable energy projects, while Nevada has increased its renewable energy targets from a flat 20 per cent by 2015. It now wants to see such sources accounting for 22 per cent of electricity production by 2020 and 25 per cent by 2025…Pennsylvannia…announced a $23 million pot to boost the state's solar industry as part of its bid to become a centre of clean tech manufacturing in competition with…Michigan and upstate New York. The move adds to an existing $650 million fund for green energy projects…"


INDIA IS NOT OBLIGATED
Developing countries have no obligation under UNFCCC for mandatory emission cuts
Minister of State for the Ministry of Environment and Forests Shri Jairam Ramesh, July 20, 2009 (Government of India Press Information Bureau)

"The US has proposed a legislation entitled ‘American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009’ which aims, inter alia, to reduce global pollution and transition to a clean energy economy. The proposed legislation has a provision for imposition of ‘border adjustment’ measures. Under these measures, foreign manufacturers and importers including those from India would be required to pay for and hold special allowances to cover the carbon contained in US-bound products with a view to ensure that US manufacturers are not put at a disadvantage relative to overseas competitors."

Obligated to who? (click to enlarge)

"WTO, along with UNEP, has recently published a report titled ‘trade and climate change’ which states that more open trade will most likely lead to increased emissions which may not be fully offset by the change in the emissions caused by improvements or changes in the ‘composition’ and ‘technique’ of output. Although, the report does not say that trade concerns should be subjugated to climate change issues, it mentions that climate change can lead to shifts in the pattern of international trade based on comparative advantage of countries.

"All developing countries included India have no obligation under the UN convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol to make any mandatory emission cuts…"


A NEW GENERATION OF SOLAR DISHES
Next generation of solar dishes use less steel
Sue Major Holmes, July 18, 2009 (AP via SF Chronicle)

"Sandia National Laboratories scientist Chuck Andraka is excited about what's missing from a new generation of solar dishes…There's far less steel — about 2 tons — in the structure that supports the SunCatcher, developed for Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Stirling Energy Systems, or SES. Overall, the design is 5,000 pounds lighter than its prototype.

"Sandia morphed the SunCatcher's original rectangular design into a radial structure that looks like a 37 1/2-foot diameter satellite dish with mirrors…The lab's work on the SunCatcher was done with manufacturing in mind…[as] part of a larger effort to make solar energy more affordable…"

click to enlarge

"The newest SunCatcher version has fewer pieces, so there's less inventory to keep and fewer pieces to assemble. The design retains the functionality of the previous one but is far easier to repair…SunCatcher's developers also expect it to benefit suppliers in the hard-hit automotive industry…[because it] uses radiators [like those on automobiles] for cooling…reducing evaporation…[and providing] a huge advantage in a desert environment.

"Sandia began working with SES on the project in 2002…In 2005, Sandia installed an SES-built system…SunCatchers, each producing 25 kilowatts of electricity, will be placed in arrays covering many square miles…The modular design uses mirrors attached to a parabolic dish that focuses the sun's rays onto a receiver, which transmits heat to a Stirling engine, a sealed system filled with hydrogen."

click to enlarge

"As the gas heats and cools, its pressure rises and falls, and the change in pressure drives a piston inside the engine. That produces mechanical power, which drives a generator and makes electricity…The structure rotates to follow the sun…In a particularly bright area, a utility could remove mirrors that gather sunlight; in a cloudier coastal area, it could add some, Andraka said.

"Tessera Solar plans a 60-unit [1.5 megawatt] generation plant in Arizona or California… by January…[and] two large plants… by the end of 2012 in Southern California…Tessera also is developing a 27-megawatt West Texas project…"